Page 9 - Reedley Exponent 12-27-18 E-edition

B3 | Thursday, December 27, 2018 www.reedleyexponent.com
Girls Prep Basketball — Dinuba-Orosi Holiday Classic
Pirates take 4th after tough loss in semis
Preps
RHS boys soccer too much for Orange Cove Staff Report
Reedley High's boys soc- cer team finished a tough stretch of non-league match- es last week with a convinc- ing 4-1 road victory over the Orange Cove High Titans on Dec. 20.
In a battle of reigning Central Section champion- ship programs, the Division 2 Pirates (7-4-1) scored two goals in each half to put away Division 5 Titans (4- 7-4) by a 4-1 score at Titan Stadium. Sophomore Anto- nio Lopez had Orange Cove's only goal, a second half score off an assist from freshman Felipe Vargas.
The Pirates' win marked their third match in as ma- ny nights. The previous two contests were losses against Division 1 schools. First was a 5-2 setback against Bullard on Dec. 18 at Sal Gonzalez Field. The Knights (9-2-1) pulled away with four second half goals.
That was followed by a Dec. 19 match in Clovis against Buchanan (10-5-2). The Bears peppered the net for three second-half goals to claim a 4-0 shutout win.
Reedley now has an ex- tended break from action. The next match for the Pi- rates is their North Yosem- ite League opener at home against Fresno High on Wednesday, Jan. 9. The var- sity match is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
Orange Cove, meanwhile, had one other match last week, dropping a 2-1 road de- cision at rival Orosi High on Dec. 18. Sophomore Alexis Saucedo scored the Titans' goal.
Next match for Orange Cove is Wednesday, Jan. 2, at home in a 6 p.m. start against Corcoran High.
GIRLS Buchanan blanks Pirates Reedley High dropped its
third match in a row, falling 3-0 at home against reigning Division 1 section champion Buchanan on Dec. 19. In that time, the PIrates have been shutout out twice and man- aged a single goal in the other loss.
The visiting Bears (9-3-1) scored once in the first half and added two more goals in the second half.
Reedley returns to ac- tion at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28, with a 3 p.m. non-league match against Fowler at Sal Gonzalez Field. The Pirates then travel to Visalia for a
See PREPS on page B4
RHS overtaken in final quarter by eventual tourney champ Strathmore
By Jon Earnest
jon@midvalleypublishing.com
The Reedley High Pirate girls weren't able to shake the effects of a tough semifi- nal loss to eventual champion Strathmore High; eventually settling for a fourth place fin- ish on Dec. 22 in the Dinuba- Orosi Holiday Classic basket- ball tournament.
Reedley (6-7) jumped to an 11-point lead in the first half and still led with just more than two minutes to play, but the Spartans were powered by tournament Most Valuable Player Jazmine Soto and pulled out a 59-55 victory on Dec. 21. The Pirates then couldn't overcome a 10-point halftime deficit in the third place game against host Di- nuba, eventually dropping a 44-35 decision.
See PIRATES on page B4
Jon Earnest / The Exponent
Reedley High School's Miah Paz dribbled downcourt for a layup during the fourth quarter of a 59-55 semifinals loss to eventual champion Strathmore High on Dec. 21 in the Dinuba-Orosi Holiday Classic. Freshman Paz was named to the all-tournament team.
Immanuel closes strong to finish 2-2 in bracket play
Staff Report
The Immanuel Eagles girls man- aged to build some momentum for the Tulare Mid-Winter Showcase basket- ball tournament after Christmas by winning their last two games in last week's Dinuba-Orosi Holiday Classic.
The Eagles (3-7) pulled out a 32-27 overtime victory against the Mt. Whit-
ney Pioneers on Dec. 21 at Dinuba High School, then took the lead down the stretch to defeat the McLane Highlanders 39-34 in the 13th place game on Dec. 22 at Dinuba High.
Immanuel opens play in Tulare at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, against host Tulare Union. Games continue daily through Saturday, Dec. 29.
It's been a rough early season
for the defending Division 4 section champions, who entered the Holiday Classic having dropped five of its first six games.
The struggles continued in the opening two games at Orosi High School with lopsided losses to Ca- ruthers (64-25) on Dec. 19 and Coalin- ga (50-34) on Dec. 20. The Eagles were plagued by turnovers and cold shoot-
ing against Caruthers, which went on to finish second in the Orosi portion of the tournament. The Blue Raiders (10-3) led 28-14 at halftime and then turned the game into a rout with a 23- 3 blitz in the third quarter.
Immanuel made it more competi- tive in the second round loss to Coal-
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Reedley boys get short break after loss to Kingsburg
Staff Report
The Reedley High Pirates boys basketball team is enjoy- ing a brief break after a run of seven games in 14 days, and when they play again they'll try to end a four-game losing streak.
Visiting Kingsburg High jumped to a 10-point lead after one quarter and never looked back in posting a 70-55 non- league victory Dec. 19 at RHS gym. The Vikings (5-8) got seven points from Nate Tows- ley and six points from Logan Byrum in the decisive opening quarter.
The visitors kept the pres- sure on in the second quarter with a 18-11 run to build a 39-
22 cushion at the break. Center Jason Gunn scored six of his nine points in the period, while the Pirates (6-5) – who rely on three-point shooting from the outside — made just two treys in the first half.
Junior guard Augie Villar- eal has been Reedley's leading scorer through the early part of the season, but had just a single basket in the half. He made a pair of three-pointers in the second half but finished with just eight points while fouling out with just over three minutes remaining.
Junior forward Danny De La Rosa led the Pirates with 12 points, nine coming in the
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Danny Jimenez / Photo Contributed
Reedley High School junior Leo Hernandez scored a layup during the Pirates' 70-55 non-league loss to Kingsburg High on Dec. 19. The junior guard-forward scored nine points in the contest.
RC men's hoop back at .500 with road win
Local youth basketball camps to start in January
Staff Report
With five players scoring in double figures, the Reedley College Tiger men’s basketball team got back to .500 at 6-6 on Dec. 20 with a 70-63 road victory over Solano College.
The non-conference contest was a makeup game from an earlier contest that was postponed due to poor air quality from the Northern California fires.
Uriah Carter led the winners with 17 points and eight steals. Ruben Parks fol- lowed with a double double, netting 13 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Taber and James Hannah each contributed 10 points.
Reedley finally plays a home game on Thursday, Jan. 3, as they open Central Valley Conference action with a 6 p.m. matchup against the 4-6 Porterville Col- lege Pirates. Porterville has played five straight home games before a Saturday, Dec. 29, matchup at Santa Barbara City College.
Sunbirds close non-conference play with road victory Fresno Pacific closed the non-confer-
ence portion of its schedule Dec. 19 with a 71-60 victory against Cal State Mon- terey Bay at the Otter Sports Complex
Colleges
in Seaside.
The Sunbirds (4-6) took control of the
game with a 14-3 run in the second half that built on a tight one-point lead. Sopho- more guard Elijah Hill led FPU with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Coach C.J. Haydock praised his team's strong effort bouncing back from a home loss to Point Loma on Dec. 17.
"I was proud of a little bit of grit from us tonight," he said. "Monterey re- ally flexed us, and with our third game in five days, we needed our bench to step up; and they did."
Haydock praised the defensive play of Immanuel High product R.J. Horn, who finished with four points and three rebounds. Another former Eagle, fresh- man guard Nate Kendricks, finished the night with six points, three rebounds and two assists while shooting 2-for-9 from the field including a three-point basket.
The Sunbirds are back in action on Monday, Dec. 31, hosting Chaminade at 2:30 p.m. in the PacWest Conference opener for both schools.
Reedley College / Photo Contributed
Reedley College guard Stephanie Cervantes from Dinuba stood with coach Dan Kilbert af- ter being named to the all-tournament team at the San Mateo Invitational on Dec. 16. The Tigers women are 7-7.
Staff Report
Signups are being ac- cepted for youth basketball camps hosted by Reedley High School and Immanuel Schools that will be held starting in January.
The annual Reedley Small Ball Basketball Camps hosted by the RHS boys bas- ketball teams, takes place on four consecutive Saturdays beginning Jan. 12. Other ses- sions are Jan.19, 26 and Feb. 2, with the latter date being the program's third annual pancake breakfast.
The weekly camp sched- ule has players from transi- tion kindergarten to second grade participating from 8:30 to 10 a.m.; third- through fifth-graders go from 10 to 11:30 a.m. while sixth- through eighth-graders par- ticipate from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Cams will be in the
Reedley High School gym. Camp officials stay reg- istration fees include a re- versible camp jersey and a rewarding camp experience. To register, go to eventbrite. com and search for Reedley Small Ball, or visit the camp website at Reedleyhoops. kcusd.net (under Youth
Camps tab).
Immanuel Eagles Bas-
ketball will host the 2019 Boys and Girls Soaring Eagle Hoopsters Camp. The camp runs on consecutive Satur- days: Jan. 12, 19 and 26 and Feb. 2. There are two camps — for kindergarten students through fourth grade from 9 to 10:15 a.m. in both north and south gyms and fifth- through eighth-grade from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
To register, contact IHS varsity coach Chris Woods online at cwoods@immanue- schools.com.